Our Lord said in Matthew 7:1-2, “Do not judge, or you too will be judged. 2 For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.” How do we accomplish our Lord’s call to proclaim His great commission without judging hypocritically or acting self righteously? We are called, as disciples of Christ, to reach out to our brothers and sisters and lead them to the Gospel of our Lord. This also includes leading those back to the Lord who are trapped by, following or teaching false doctrine. But, we must be careful to reach out in true Christian love to help lead those in error back to the Lord. It is a fine line that differentiates true Christian love from self righteous judgment.
When we truly believe and accept that Jesus Christ is our Savior, we will be filled with the Holy Spirit. We will deny ourselves and place our Lord’s requirements as the driving force in our lives. Our very lives will revolve around pleasing our Lord and following His commands. We will minimize our self and place our relationship with our Lord as the most important thing in our lives. Martin Luther said, “This is the reason why our theology is certain: it snatches us away from ourselves and places us outside ourselves, so that we do not depend on our own strength, conscience, experience, person, or works, but depend on that which is outside ourselves, that is, on the promise and truth of God, which cannot deceive.” When we truly deny ourselves and love our Lord, we will want to do whatever we can to please Him. Every aspect of our lives will be guided by the desire to fulfill our love for the Lord. Once we truly become a disciple of Christ, we will no longer be, conservative or liberal, gay or straight, black or white. Our identity will be fulfilled as a Christians and we will joyfully conduct our lives as our Lord commands in His Word.
There are those within the ELCA that are truly filled with the Spirit and want nothing more than to reach out to the world in Christian love. But, there are also those that accept and advocate for the errant doctrine that is currently promoted by the ELCA. The leaders of the ELCA and their Biblical scholars are attempting to lead believers astray by promoting the social justice agenda as the good works that God calls us to perform, but are, in fact, guided by man's imperfect love, not God's perfect love. The ELCA continues to minimize the role of faith and diminishes the role of preaching the true Gospel of Jesus Christ. ELCA theology has strayed from the Word and has given in to the secular world, which is the dominion of the evil one. Much of the new theology taught and promoted by the ELCA is not true to Scripture, but takes man’s opinion, experience, and traditions and places them in authority over Scripture. They even question the very tenets of our faith, including casting doubt upon the Virgin birth of Jesus, the resurrection of our Lord, and the divinity of Christ. Virgin birth Resurrection Divinity of Christ
Many are trapped in the ELCA and are unaware of this errant doctrine. Many are not questioning the motives and message that is being promoted and taught. After all, most trust that their church would not lead them astray, since it is the responsibility of the church to maintain and teach proper doctrine. Those of us that see through this deception have the responsibility to reach out to our brothers and sisters in Christ to open their eyes and show them that they are being deceived by the very church in which they place their trust. We must speak out against this wayward denomination before more believers fall prey to this false gospel. We must pray that those led astray dwell in the Word and recognize that this doctrine is not of God, but of man. The evidence against the ELCA is plainly posted on their own website. We only have to click on the links to learn where this denomination is heading, and it is far away from our Lord. The Apostle Paul has advice for those that would embrace what the ELCA is teaching, 1 Corinthians 15:1-2, “Now, brothers and sisters, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your stand. 2 By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain.”
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